NUFORCE AMPS FOR PASSIVE SUBWOOFERS

I totally disagree with Stereotaipei. The NuForce Ref 9 mono's put out 300W RMS into 4 ohm loads and can pass undistorted peaks of 650 Watts. And the Reference 9SE's put out 250 watts RMS at 4 ohms and can pass undistorted short-term peaks of 660 watts. Although the RMS rating is at your mimimum requirement, the NuForce amps sound much more powerful because of their extremely high peak-power delivery. Plus the simple fact is that the Ref 9SE amps produce the most controlled and articulate bass performance I have ever experienced.

My feeling is that you'd be very pleased with the bass performance of the Ref 9 and even more pleased with the 9SE due to it's exemplary bass control. A more powerful ICE amp without the same articulation and control would likely be less fulfilling, i.e., it might ultimately play a single decibel louder but would lack resolution/definition compared to the NuForce amps.

Ptheo, $1350 is a very good price for a pair of Ref 9.02s. I'd snap them up if I was interested.

The extended bass version doubles the input capacitance and results in the bass response being a bit more linear out to 20Hz. It gives the amp a little more weight on the very bottom but it's not a night and day deal. I think Nuforce only charged about $75 for that mod.

As I have stated in my other NuForce posts, I (and others) believe the amps sound best with the internal speaker post capacitor removed (which is a cheap, no-cost tweak). You can snip one capacitor leg just to try it and solder it back in place if you think the cap makes it sound any better.